Monday and Tuesday in Wilkesboro have been filled by visits with old friends, opportunities to turn acquaintances into new friends, and catching up on deferred activities like laundry, banking, mail, and such. First, for a bit of news. This blog doesn’t usually go in for scoops, but here’s an interesting bit. The Kruger Brothers have added two members to their group and will debut a new bluegrass band at their festival, Carolina in the Fall, on Saturday. The new Kruger Brothers bluegrass band will feature Adam Steffey on mandolin and Bobby Hicks on fiddle, along with the usual trio of Jens Kruger, indisputably the best banjo player in the world, Uwe Kruger on guitar and vocals, and Joel Landsberg on bass. The boys are being very careful not to tip their hand about the plans they have for this group, but it looks to me as if they’re going to go on a limited tour this summer. They could be the most thoughtful and innovative bluegrass band to hit the ground in years, perhaps since the Bluegrass Album Band. At a couple of parties in the past two days, I’ve watched Jens in bluegrass mode create licks and figures and arpeggios so dazzling in their conception, and seemingly so easily achieved, that few other pickers would either conceive of them or try to replicate them. This could be an interesting and ground breaking event for bluegrass, especially considering the brothers’ great regard for the history and background of bluegrass music and their creative energy in developing new ways for the banjo, guitar, bass trio to express itself.
Bobby Hicks (Photo by David Roye)
Adam Steffey
Krugers Jam on Philip's Porch
Maynard Holbrook Sings with Uwe Kruger
Joel Landsberg Plays Upright Bass (?)
Jens Kruger Jamming
On Monday we were invited to Philip Zenon’s home for a barbecue and picking. Philip is the Kruger’s sound engineer and a fellow immigrant from Switzerland. Philip’s sister and family were visiting North Carolina for the first time. Also present was the Waddington family band, young group from North Dakota. It’s quite amazing that a group of five youngsters growing up in the bluegrass desert of the Great Plains. The kids are traveling with their parents and two younger children and will be appearing at Carolina in the Fall this weekend. The next day we went to Uwe Kruger’s home for supper and more music and conversation. The welcoming warmth of this large and interesting family, like so much of the music community we seem to have joined, exceeds any we’ve experienced elsewhere.
Waddington Family Picks in Uwe Kruger's Living Room
Uwe at Home
Seth Waddington (17) Plays My Thirtieth Anniversary Deering
The Carolina in the Fall event, coming up at the Sheperd Farm in N. Wilkesboro on Friday evening and all day Saturday (October 17 and 18) seeks to bring this environment into a festival setting. Various guests, many close friends of the Krugers will appear on stage and perform with the Kruger Brothers. Check here for a list of performers and add Steffey, Hicks, Ron Block, Terry Baucom, and a big banjo championship to the list. The setting is lovely, and the host band truly acts as hosts throughout the weekend as well as offering extensive performances. The addition of their new bluegrass band should appeal to many.
Stage at Carolina in the Fall
Hillside to Vendors at Carolina in the Fall
Wow! What an awesome group the Krugers have put together. Did you post the new group's name, or did I miss it? I'll have to look again. Quite a "scoop" for your blog. It's good to know Bobby Hicks, always one of my heros, is back at "work". I guess there's a reason for such a short-term festival, but with a lineup like that it's a shame it can't go on for a couple of days. But there's always a reason for these things, I suppose. (sighing wistfully).
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